SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Southern Utah University women's basketball team fell to the University of California Santa Barbara 71-61 on Sunday, Nov. 19 at The Thunderdome. The Thunderbirds move to 1-3 on the season, while the Gauchos improve to 2-1 overall.
HEAD COACH TRACY MASON SAYS
"Overall, I thought we had some good stretches, we just have to figure out how to string them together. We did a great job on the offensive glass but we needed to get stops and execute better."
T-BIRD TIDBITS
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The Thunderbirds won the rebounding battle by a wide margin, grabbing 42 boards while holding the Gauchos to only 28.
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Megan Smith led the squad offensively, compiling 16 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
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Samantha Johnston played a versatile game, scoring 10 points to go along with four assists and a team-high four steals.
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Charli Kay (10) and Daylani Ballena (8) each chipped in offensively to help power the Thunderbirds' offense.
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Ava Uhrich corralled a team-high eight rebounds, including five offensive boards.
GAME RECAP
First Half
After the Gauchos scored on their first two possessions, the Thunderbirds exploded with an 8-0 burst to take an 8-4 lead early in the game. UC Santa Barbara rallied to tie the score at 14-14 with 3:33 remaining in the first quarter. Charli Kay and Ashley Banks sparked a 5-2 run by SUU to give the T-Birds a 19-16 advantage at the end of the quarter.
Shiho Isono led SUU with six points in the second quarter, as UC Santa Barbara took a 32-29 lead at halftime.
Second Half
UC Santa Barbara came out strong to start the second half, outscoring SUU 21-12 in the third quarter to take a 53-41 lead approaching the final period of play.
The Gauchos hit a triple on the opening possession of the quarter to stretch their lead to 56-41. Megan Smith and Samantha Johnston combined for 10 points as the Thunderbirds mounted a ferocious 12-3 run to get within six, 59-53, with 5:03 remaining in the game. That was as close as SUU would get, however, as UC Santa Barbara would go on to claim a 71-61 victory.
NOTABLE PLAYS
UP NEXT
Southern Utah will return to the America First Event Center on Tuesday, Nov. 28, as the Thunderbirds are set to face California Baptist in their first Western Athletic Conference matchup. The game is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. MT.
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